Call me weird but I LOVE looking at well-displayed produce, whether it’s at the farmer’s market, the grocery store, or my fridge..ok it’s not that great in my fridge, but someday I will figure out a way to make it fabulous she said.

Though I’m a HUGE fan of snow and cold, it seems we’ve been inside a lot so far this winter. I still bundle up and get out to walk the dog, but I find myself day dreaming about gardening and Spring.

When my friend Jody had a greenhouse, we used to go in there and sit and drink our coffee and admire the produce growing madly on the vine. Jody has a green thumb that would make the Jolly Green Giant jealous. I walked my dogs by her home every morning when I lived in Black Forest and it was commonplace for her to come running out to the gate with fresh eggs, or a bag of spinach.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I tend to focus on making meals that are 30 min or less to prep/serve. Stir fry is a quick meal and a great way to get in your daily doses of veggies and lean meat. I typically use either chicken breasts or pork. Sometimes I grill the meat and stir fry my veggies. No wok, no worries..cast iron skillet works just as well for me.

This was a fairly simple 4 veggie stir fry to accompany my grilled chicken. If you love broccoli, but haven’t tried “baby broccoli” also called broccolini, then treat yourself to some soon. I really prefer it to broccoli . The secret to stir fry is to use minimal oil and get those veggies in and out quickly so they stay crisp. The true color of the vegetable should remain the same.

Although this stir fry only contains baby broccoli, onion, garlic and red peppers, there are tons of veggies you can add to stir fry. Bok choy is one of my favorites too. Others I commonly add to stir fry are carrots, celery, mushrooms, zucchini, chinese cabbage, shallots and water chestnuts. If you haven’t tried bitter melon, now’s the time. If you like that “soy sauce” flavor try adding coconut amines.

As far as meat..strips of pork, chicken, beef, venison, and elk all work for me.